Miraculous Ginger

In this world, we live by reaction. We start the day with certain goals, and before we know it we get a phone call about a minor emergency, or an appliance breaks, or a client calls with an urgent request. Suddenly we’re in crisis mode—and we may not be able to leave this state for the rest of the day, because the moment one issue is resolved, a new one takes its place. All day long, every day, we’re dying out fires, large and small. This reactivity is what we need to survive the Quickening. At the same time, never winding down can set us up to be hyperreactive—like when there’s traffic when you’re already late to pick up your child from soccer practice, and without even thinking, you honk the horn at the car in front of you for stopping at a yellow light. Ginger is one of the most important tools for giving ourselves respite from a reactive state. 

When you’ve been going a mile a minute from morning until night and you finally start to check out mentally and emotionally, the physical body often stays reactive, in a heightened, spasmodic state. This is how stress-related illnesses such as adrenal fatigue, acid reflux, sleep apnea, spastic bladder, insomnia, digestive issues such as spastic colon and gastritis, and chronic muscle pain can get kicked up. Ginger is the ultimate antispasmodic. A cup of ginger tea can calm an upset stomach and relax any other areas of tension for up to 12 hours. Rather than acting as a nerve tonic, it acts as a tonic for the organs and muscles, telling the body that it can let go, that everything is under control. If your throat muscles are tight from speaking or yelling too much, or from having to hold in something you wish you could say, ginger is an amazing relaxant for the area. It also helps relieve tension headaches and flush excess lactic acid from muscle tissue into the bloodstream and out of the body—because it’s not just strenuous exercise that causes the release of lactic acid; stress does, too. If you sit at a desk all day with stress pumping lactic acid through your muscles, it needs a way out, since you’re not moving around to keep it flowing on its normal path. 

Ginger’s antispasmodic properties come from its more than 60 trace minerals, well over 30 amino acids (many of them undiscovered), and more than 500 enzymes and coenzymes all working together to calm reactivity. And as an antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-parasitic, ginger deserves all the accolades it gets for promoting a healthy immune system. Ginger is also ideal for stress assistance, DNA reconstruction, enhancement of your body’s production of B12, and so much more. It will be 100 years before research uncovers how much ginger truly holds.

CONDITIONS

If you have any of the following conditions, try bringing ginger into your life:

Pancreatitis, gallstones, adrenal fatigue, spastic colon, sleep apnea, spastic bladder, insomnia, laryngitis, common colds, influenza, hiatal hernia, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)/mononucleosis, migraines, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), thyroid disease, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), HHV-6, eczema, psoriasis, anxiety, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), plantar fasciitis, Raynaud’s syndrome, radiation exposure, all types of cancer (especially thyroid cancer and pancreatic cancer), celiac disease, chronic sinusitis, ear infections, fungal infections, hiatal hernia, human papilloma virus (HPV), insomnia, lymphedema, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis, shingles

SYMPTOMS

If you have any of the following symptoms, try bringing ginger into your life:

Muscle spasms, muscle cramps, ganglia cysts, muscle tightness, muscle pain, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues, anxiousness, gastritis, bloating, stomach cramps, stomach pain, canker sores, acid reflux, upset stomach, headaches, gallbladder spasms, pelvic pain, back pain, dizziness, lightheadedness, sinus pain, congestion (particularly of the chest and/ or sinuses), cough, urinary frequency, incontinence, urinary retention, weight gain, food allergies, abnormal Pap smear results, mineral deficiencies, food sensitivities, belching, diarrhea, brain fog, chronic nausea, colon spasms, cough, congestion, digestive disturbances, high cholesterol, sleeping disturbances, fatigue

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Ginger is ideal for those who feel forced to hold back what they have to say. When you are silenced, there are circumstances where the right course of action is to speak up anyway, and circumstances where you get the sense that saying your piece, however valid, would make the situation worse. Ginger is for the latter. Because holding in your true sentiments can make you feel locked up and stifled—and even put you into muscle spas—it’s very important to release all that tension, and ginger performs the job beautifully.

SPIRITUAL LESSON

Ginger teaches us that we don’t always have to have an insight, breakthrough, or solution in order to let go of what’s not helping us. We don’t have to process everything or stress ourselves out reliving it. We don’t have to react. There are enough other situations that require our reactions; there’s no sense in taking on extra. Just like we can turn to ginger to work the kinks out of our muscles and the knots out of our stomachs, we can let it work that antispasmodic magic on our souls, cleansing us of wounds and damage without us having to do anything other than let it.

TIPS

* Ginger can be reused throughout the day. It’s fine to keep using the same ginger for multiple servings of tea.;

* Drinking ginger tea during a full moon increases the medicinal effects of the ginger by 50 percent.

* Consume ginger shortly before or during a time period when you have to make a serious life decision.

* Just before you take a therapeutic bath, drink ginger water or ginger tea to enhance the bath’s healing power

GINGER LIMEADE

This ginger limeade is so refreshing. It will be especially helpful to anyone trying to transition off of caffeinated energy drinks. The subtle heat of fresh ginger juice makes this drink one you will come back to time and time again.

• 1/4 cup honey
• 4 cups water, divided
• 1 tablespoon ginger juice (from about one 3-inch piece of ginger)
• 1 cup lime juice (from about 10 limes)
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

Heat 1/4 cup of honey and 1 cup of water in a small pan until the honey dissolves completely. Set aside to cool. Juice the ginger and limes into a large pitcher. Mix in the remaining 3 cups of water. Stir in the cooled honey water and the fresh mint leaves. Refrigerate until chilled.

Makes 2 to 4 servings

Learn more about the healing powers of fruits, vegetables, herbs & spices in my book Life-Changing Foods.

This item posted: 23-May-2017

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